Eleventh death in the wake of unrest on French territory: Man killed by police

French police shot dead a suspected gunman during clashes in New Caledonia on Thursday, August 15, local prosecutors said, bringing the death toll during three months of unrest in the French Pacific territory to 11. The shooting occurred in the eastern town of Thio as police were clearing a bridge, prosecutor Yves Dupas said.

One officer was hit in the face by a rock and then police were shot at multiple times, Dupas said. They fired back, wounding two protesters, one of whom died on the way to hospital. He added that “numerous investigations” had been launched into the incident and that he expected to provide more details later in the day.

In mid-July, another suspected gunman was killed in similar circumstances when police officers clearing roadblocks in the Mont-Doré district outside the capital Noumea came under fire and fired back, killing one man.

In mid-May, unrest broke out in New Caledonia, almost 17,000 kilometers from Paris. The indigenous Kanak population fears that this will leave them permanently in the minority and that their hopes for independence will be dashed. Some barricaded streets and burned or looted cars, shops and public buildings. Paris responded by sending thousands of soldiers and police officers.

Electoral reform, which requires a change to the French constitution, has been virtually in limbo since President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the Assemblée Nationale for new elections that produced a lower house without a clear majority in July. The arrests of pro-independence protesters on June 19 have further fuelled discontent and unrest.